Bonnie and Dixie were seated on the balcony of the Emerald Room.
Sipping tea and biting into pastries, they laughed their asses off.
"You know those two bitches are throwing a fit right now, right?"
"Yeah, well they'll have to get used to it. The Alexander and Felicia they once knew are gone."
"Good riddance!" Dixie set her teacup down and folded her arms. "Now, we have to make haste and put together a plan of attack. We have more than one enemy to fight. The Demon Lord will have to wait until we've first dealt with this broken household."
Bonnie nodded. "We need to clean up from the inside out. The first step is to reestablish Felica's place as the legitimate daughter of House Del Montague. Despite being adopted, Helena is favored far too much. We have to correct this. If we can catch her during one of her slanderous stunts and turn the tables on her, it will remove some of that pristine shine the Duke and everyone else believe she has."
"The best way to expose Helena is to put her in a position where a person she wants to impress takes a liking to Felicia instead. It will trigger the brat within her." Bonnie stated. "And an opportunity is coming first thing tomorrow!"
Dixie arched her brow. "What do you mean?"
"Don't you remember? Marquis Liam Hughes Del Findel is paying Alexander a visit. He attended the Academy with Alex and the two became fast friends. He just graduated with the highest scores in 9 different subjects. He's got an impressive reputation and all the teachers view him as a prodigy." Bonnie was excited. "If you win his favor then we'll have a powerful ally to call upon when things get bad. Which they will. I'm sure you can sense the elusive feeling of doom as easily as I can."
Dixie propped her chin on her hand. "Yes, I can. But one step at a time, Bonnie. I will definitely charm the Marquis. All I have to do is showcase my intelligent wit and he'll be hooked instantly. Perhaps, I should trigger a romantic interest as well. But I'll have to examine the development of our conversation before trying that."
"We'll need to dig up more info on Tyren's background. Helena is effectively nothing more than a spoiled brat lacking common sense. Unfortunately, her mother is more intelligent."
"Somewhat." Bonnie scoffed. "She is a habitual liar as well. Constantly whispering so much poison about Felicia into the Duke's ears; it's why he didn't ask any questions about the annex business. I'm certain she's engaging in some shady shit that would infuriate the Duke if we unearthed it. If we can get her punished severely, like...confinement, then it'll dissuade Helena from trying anything."
"We need those two contained. That way we can focus all our attention on learning about holy magic and demonic magic." Dixie asserted. "We complete our task, then we go home, right?"
Bonnie blinked at that. Would they? Would they be sent back once they succeeded? Then would the real Felicia and Alexander return?
"I don't know. First we have to focus on not dying here cause it might mean we're dead for good." Bonnie reasoned. "So while we encourage the Duke to doubt Helena and Tyren's character, we also need to be shifting his favor onto you. Only way that can happen is if you gain social approval. He cares about reputation more than anything and right now you are the blight."
"Not to worry. I will play to the tune of his pride and make him realize that taking my side is in his best interest, which it ultimately will be. After all, I'm the true Saintess, not Helena." Dixie responded.
Bonnie nodded her head. "The Pope made the claim about Helena being a Saintess. So the problems of corruption within the church starts with him and his faction."
Dixie frowned. The Pope was definitely the main problem. According to the book, he was always propping up Helena like an ornament. She was clearly nothing more than a tool for him. After all, Saintesses were highly revered. They were a symbol of hope and salvation. If an ambitious Pope wanted to spread his influence, all he would have to do is claim he received a vision about a new Saintess and reveal her to the public. It doesn't mean she was real, of course. He could be lying the whole time, but how would the public know? The position of Pope came with a benevolence package. Nobody would dare go against him out of fear of being accused of blasphemy!
I doubt that creepy Pope who's never not smiling hasn't been killing off anyone who gets too suspicious of him.
And though corrupted, there were still a lot of sincere, virtuous believers within the church. Men of faith and women of worship who all adored Goddess Kartara and believed the Pope to be spreading her grace alongside them.
How do we sort out the good from the bad? There are far too many who live in between.